The long, dark nights of January and February can make us want to stay home under a blanket. Cole Borgstadt thinks winter is the perfect time for community gatherings. He's curating a new film series, “Waterwitch”, at Puritan Coffee and Beer on Dickson Street in Fayetteville. Each of the four films in the series. The first is the 1985 Japanese film Tampopo. Each of the films will be paired with a custom cocktail. Borgstadt says he's thrilled at the idea of people coming together to experience a movie together.
It's something he did in late 2024 at Puritan for a screening of his locally filmed short movie “Mudpuppy”. That event, paired with photographs by Fayetteville artist Henry O. Head. And that experience, he says, helped pave the way for this series with a rather unusual name.
Cole Borgstadt: I found that to be a really gratifying night. As someone who grew up here in Fayetteville, who kind of found their creative self here in Fayetteville and has a lot of love for the larger arts community. Um, here. And so I think as I started to kind of develop some stuff for Puritan and trying to figure out what that could be, I realized that I wanted this to have kind of the ability to stand on its own, the ability to possibly, in future iterations of it, move around or kind of be able to kind of pop up where's, where fits for the event. Puritan is a great partner. Um, but I think as we were talking about the format of it, it was clear that this needed to be its own entity and all of that.
I'd been talking with a friend about it. It's, um, you know, water witching is like a practice that is kind of tied to some kind of folklore, both in the Ozarks and Appalachia and all of that, but, really–
Kyle Kellams: And water divining.
Borgstadt: Water divining. Yes. Water dowsing.
Kellams: A stick or a tool to tell you where water is underneath the ground?
Borgstadt: Yes, essentially. And there is something one could say there's something supernatural about it. But there I think there was something about just this kind of search for a life source in the land that I thought was really intriguing and kind of, um, you know, I think you have that moment in cinema sometimes where it feels kind of like something just jumps out at you. Not a jump scare, but just something in the film and a moment emotionally, just kind of like, peaks in a way. And I think there's something about kind of water witching, I guess as a, as a practice, I, from a poetic standpoint of, you know, kind of the stick dropping and being like, that's where it is.
Kellams: There it is.
Borgstadt: I like that, I think, I think there's something about that for me. But also it just rolled off the tongue nicely, and I think has been just a lot of fun to be able to kind of brand it around that. So we're calling them like the Water Witch screenings, basically that's kind of the idea.
Kellams: It's four films. None of them are, I think, part of the contemporary mainstream. The first is a delightful film that is really maybe the best movie ever made about food.
Borgstadt: I fully agree. I'm so glad. So you've seen it?
Kellams: Oh, yes. It's been a while. Yes.
Borgstadt: I'm so glad. I feel like it is one of those films that anyone who has seen it, I feel like it's such an easy connection point because it is… I mean, it really is such a joyful film in so many ways, and I think it is the greatest food movie of all time. And about the many relationships we have to it.
And it's a film that I discovered that someone recommended to me years ago. And yeah, there's just a joyfulness to it that I think anyone could engage with. It's the most universal topic we have, especially with the way we're trying to do our format for this series as well, where every film has a cocktail pairing with it. And really, there's no major reason for that other than just trying to find more reasons for people to commune in the space. And so kind of having a cocktail hour beforehand, I think feels like just a great opportunity for people to, you know, chat amongst themselves before the movie. The hope, obviously, is that people can continue the conversation after the film, but as well just kind of expanding, maybe what we think of as the cinema going experience and really trying to focus on that kind of curated offering.
So anyway, so “Tampopo”, I think it felt like a great starting point for that.
Kellams: Japan. Mid eighties. Yes. Uh, yeah.
Borgstadt: So “Tampopo” was filmed by Yuzo Itami and was made in 1985. And upon release, it didn't make the splash on an international stage that it maybe has now, it kind of really has developed a bit of a cult following in a lot of ways. And all the other films that we have kind of that we're programming, I think have some sort of marketing chip to them a little bit. Tampopo is one that doesn't necessarily have a marquee actor that we can point out, at least from an American perspective.
All these films we are, you know, we're selling tickets to this event and all of that. So we are properly licensing all of these films. And as really a not for profit business, this is our endeavor. You know, we don't necessarily have the funds to go and get, I don't know, there was a movie like we were really interested at one point in trying to get “To Die For” with Nicole Kidman. Um, but man, the prices to license that film, even a film from the 1990s. But just because it is a Hollywood production, it has, you know, major actors in it. The price is quite high. So we approached a distributor that has been really, really generous with their licensing prices if we commit to doing all four through them. And so that is also kind of part of the presentation that we're giving is, they're in a way a partner in this.
And so anyways, “Taste of Cherry” is a really beautiful film. I think it's probably the most meditative and, um, spiritual film in a lot of ways that we're showing. It's, uh, it's by, uh, Abbas Kiarostami, who is kind of, uh, you know, an acclaimed Iranian director, um, and has, has made countless films, um, you know, from “Close-Up” to “Certified Copy.” “The Wind Will Carry Us”, just a really sensitive director in a lot of ways. And so “Taste of Cherry” is just one that I thought would be really interesting. I guess you could say that it has a built-in flavor palette as well, just by title, but, uh, it's just a film that's very important to me, and a film that, you know, in a lot of ways, I just want to be able to share with other people.
It came out in 1997. It's the first Iranian film to ever win the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Uh, it actually is an interesting film, partially because of its relationship to the festival. The kind of controlling body for the arts in Iran,, wasn't sure if they were going to let it screen at Cannes. I wasn't sure if they were going to give it over to Cannes. And so when they competed in 1997 for the Cannes Film Festival, they did not have it in the program at all because it wasn't guaranteed. And so two days before the screening, they gave the go ahead. Abbas Kiarostami flies to Cannes and ends up winning the Palme d’Or. So it's kind of a unique story in and of itself, but the story of the film is probably our heaviest storyline, but it's about a man who decided he's going to take his own life, but he is looking for someone who will bury his body for him. So the movie takes place basically in this extended car ride where he's kind of driving through the hills outside of Tehran and looking for someone who will kind of accept this proposal, which is, ‘I'm going to go lay in this grave that I've dug for myself. Um, and in the morning, if I am, you know, if I'm dead, please bury me. If I'm alive, please rescue me and take me to the hospital’. And the conversations that kind of unfold over the course of this film almost have a little bit of, like, a fable type structure to them. You know, one of them is a priest. One of them's a soldier. One of them's a taxidermist. And the conversations that just unfold over these car rides are just so beautiful and sensitive and really, in many ways, a celebration of life.
I think it's a really exciting film to be able to sit in a room with people and see. I think that’s the ultimate goal with all of this is that these are movies, that you could watch at home, the ability to sit in a room with a group of people, in a dark room, in a focused setting, and to be able to experience this kind of emotional arc for any film with people around you is, you know, just a very palpable experience and really beautiful in a way.
Kellams: We're talking about the Water Witch film series that will start on Jan. 15. All the films are at Puritan. We've mentioned the first two. The third one, Feb. 12, is “Purple Noon”. This goes back to 1960. I've heard about this movie. Never seen. It's European.
Borgstadt: It is European, yes. It's, um, it is a French production, but it takes place in Italy. It is the original adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Kellams: Ah.
Borgstadt: And, you know, I mean, I love “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, the Matt Damon one. I kind of grew up with it, in a way, I guess, when it was age appropriate. But, um, “Purple Noon” is the original film adaptation, so it stars Alain Delon, kind of iconic French actor, kind of at his most beautiful. I think people like to think about Jude Law and “The Talented Mr. Ripley”. I think Alain Delon is kind of in a similar space where it's just an incredible actor, but also just a really beautiful person, kind of at the peak of their time. And I think “The Talented Mr. Ripley” as a subject matter is kind of a perfect container for that.
And so it's a gorgeous film. It's in the 1960s. So we were trying to find something that would fit, um, kind of around Valentine’s Day has a little bit of a romance edge to it. But ultimately, as we were kind of like with the– I know, and it's funny to think about it in that way– but with the screenings, we were trying to figure out a way to kind of have something for everyone as much as you can within four films. But so we have kind of like a screwball comedy in “Tempopo”, but we've got kind of a meditative film, “A Taste of Cherry”. We haven't talked about it yet, but “Police Story”. Jackie Chan, martial arts action comedy. The two categories that we hadn't really hit yet were a romance film and a thriller, and this kind of seemed to hit both for us in a way. And it's just delightful. I mean, “Purple Noon”. It's it's gorgeous. I think for the kind of dead of winter screening as well.
Kellams: And then the series concludes with Police Story, as you mentioned, Jackie Chan. I think if anyone's only familiar with Jackie Chan's work in the United States, they're going to be shocked at what young Jackie Chan could do.
Borgstadt: Yes.
Kellams: It's Buster Keaton level type material.
Borgstadt: Yes, I fully agree. And I mean it, you know, I mean, what he's able to do in Rush Hour, for instance, is pretty remarkable. It has it has the energy. It's it's so fun to watch on screen. But, uh, you know, Police Story really is kind of like quintessential Jackie Chan stunts, like manic.
Kellams: Manic.
Borgstadt: And it is Buster Keaton-esque in the sense that there are certain things that are happening where you really feel the reality of what you're watching. I mean, it's akin to a Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible" type stunt that happens in this film and happens kind of throughout in many ways. But, uh, it's it's a fantastic movie. It's so fun. It's it's hilarious. It's, you know, it is a great story as well. It doesn't feel like you're just being carried. Stunt to stunt by any means. And and all of that. And there's a, there's in contrast to maybe like a Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible”, there is a choreography in almost every scene that Jackie Chan's in that his fluidity, like his fluidity of movement, kind of really intercedes into. And even if he's just in the office at the police station, the way he picks up a pencil, the way he moves around the room has that kind of bounciness and ease that kind of translates into the stunt work as well. I think it's a great film to close with. It'll be a ton of fun. It's another one that I think, you know, we talked about sharing the space with “A Taste of Cherry” as this kind of more emotional catharsis. I think with “Tampopo” with “Police Story”. This should be fun. Yeah, a ton of fun.
Kellams: Now, each one of these is being paired with a cocktail. Prepared by?
Borgstadt: Prepared by mixologist named Ari Ponce, who, um, is, uh, one of the mixologists at Pinky Swear up in Rogers. Um, and so she's, uh, you know, Pinky Swear. They're doing a lot of interpretations of music into cocktails. And so I think through a friend, we started a conversation about what it could look like to do that with films. So, yeah, we kind of started that conversation. We're still working on our menu for the screenings. Those are available on our website. But yes, there's an opportunity to pre-purchase a drink up front. There's a general admission to the screening. That's just the ticket. Just gets you in the door. Then we have a general admission plus drink package where you can pre-purchase a drink and all of that, and there will be more available on site. And beer and wine will be available inside Puritan as well. So um, or it's January, so if you're doing dry January, it's still just a great time to come out. We'll have popcorn.
Kellams: “Tampopo” starts the series on Jan. 15. Cole, thanks so much for coming in.
Borgstadt: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. Hope to see you guys there.
Kellams: Cole Borgstadt is a filmmaker and the curator of the new Waterwitch film series at Puritan Coffee and Beer on Dickson Street in Fayetteville. The first of the four films is the Japanese film “Tampopo”, that screening Jan. 15, dates for all four films, and more information about the events can be found at waterwitch.org. You can find Cole’s short film “Mudpuppy” online.
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